Alright Superhero Do-Gooders, do your stuff:

[Scott Moore]

Can some of you knowledgeable and worldly
types give me a primer as to the red flags
contained in this listing, which HAS to be too good to be true?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2971263812&category=20332&sspagename=rvi:1:2

[Dan Brown]

Manufacturer promo photos only, price too far below market.

[Jeff Donald]

It's a hijacked (stolen) account. Look at the feedback and click on what he/she has been buying and selling. Now they suddenly have 15 DVX100's for $1,400? No way. Ebay will pull the ad in a day or two, don't get taken.

[Robert Knecht Schmidt]

Low feedback rating, and most of the seller's positive feedback comes from buy transactions--in other words, the seller is not an experienced seller.

Not to mention--location in Brooklyn.

[Jeff Donald]

It's 1 PM and eBay has removed the ad. If it's too good to be true, guess what, it's a fraud.

[Scott Moore]

You guys are good. This was an EXCELLENT
tutorial. Thanks.

[Yang Wen]

think twice before buying anything from New York City.. shady place to do business

[Robert Knecht Schmidt]

While a New York location listing might be considered a red flag, that doesn't mean the area should be blacklisted. B&H is among the many reputable NYC-based dealers.

[Joe Romano]

After living in NYC for 43 years and working in the film business most of my adult life, I can tell you it is one of the best places to do business in the world.

Because of volume, prices are low and most items are held in stock. Because of competition, sales people have to be knowledgeable and straightforward. Granted, there are disreputable dealers, as there are anywhere, and again because of volume (there are thousands of dealers) if there are 5 or 10 baddies it must seem like the whole place is a "shady place to do business."

On the other hand, the Federal Reserve Bank is based in NY as well as the US Stock Exchange, so people might not want to blacklist the entire NY Metropolitan area just yet.

Also, Check the top ten grossing films in almost any year (excepting the late 80's Hollywood-NY Union Boycott) and at least half the films will have been made in NYC, with NYC crews, NYC equipment and NYC suppliers. Again, if you live somewhere else, except maybe LA or Chicago or Toronto or another large city the sheer size, and energy of the place can be a bit intimidating and lead people to believe the stereotypes we've all heard in David Letterman monologues and Tonight Show routines.

Buy anywhere you want, but you shouldn't dismiss NYC out of hand, and insult the many honest, hardworking, knowledgeable and reputable dealers and craftspeople this amazing city has to offer.

I Love NYC!!!

[Nick Kerpchar]

Joe,
I wouldn't hold up the NY Stock Exchange as a model of virtue after the B.S. their Board pulled with that termination bonus. Otherwise, there are lots of good things about the Big Apple but please, give me a break, not the Exchange.

Happy Holidays, Nick

[Joe Romano]

Ok, I was fully expecting some reply like yours, and you are right; my point is simply that it is the nation's seat of business transactions, not a place to avoid. But , yeah I was expecting
Martha Stewart's name to surface in a reply. Cheers.

[Jeff Donald]

Nah, Martha's from Connecticut, we can't blame NY for her.

[Dylan Couper]

<<<-- Originally posted by Joe Romano :
Buy anywhere you want, but you shouldn't dismiss NYC out of hand, and insult the many honest, hardworking, knowledgeable and reputable dealers and craftspeople this amazing city has to offer.

I Love NYC!!! -->>>

Take it easy Joe! No one meant to insult New York in general. However, a surprisingly large number of shady online camera stores are based there. That's a fact. I wouldn't be surprised if the number of fraudulent online camera businesses there outnumber the honest sellers. I'd hesitate buying any camera from an online camera store in New York, except for B&H.

As far as the rest of New York goes, I've never been there, but I hear it's just like every other major city in the world; some good people, some bad people, and millions in between.

The only other thing I know about New York is that people that live there tend to go on pointless rants about how great New York is, if they think you've slighted their city in the least. But that's probably an unfounded generalization... ;)

[Joe Romano]

I'll clarify the reason for my earlier post. I was responding specifically to the statement, "think twice before buying anything from New York City.. shady place to do business". There is a massive film industry here, many great vendors who have given me everything from good deals to great deals to outright donations. I guess it is the sweeping generalizations that I feel I need to calmly correct. I would add some smileys here to let you know I'm smiling, but I don't really do smileys, so you'll have to take my word for it.

[Dylan Couper]

Stating that there is a large number of disreputable *ONLINE* vendors in New York is not a generalization, it is a fact. Then again, New York is about ten times bigger than most cities anyway, so that may have something to do with it.

However, people should excercise caution when buying from any online site, not just in New York. That's why we suggest people buy from the forum's sponsors.